I read in a magazine recently that it is now hip to be unavailable. Only the really important people work less hours and can disconnect. By this logic, the recent IDC/Nortel research suggests there are at least 16% of us who are very unimportant and a further 36% who are right behind. The hyperconnected are those using at least seven devices and nine applications to maintain connections (add up your own, you may be surprised). The focus of the research is on the implications that this culture of connectivity has for enterprises - blurred work/social boundaries and hours, productivity and security challenges etc. The personal implications are even less clear but if you are struggling with being always on, Jared Goralnick has some useful technotherapy.

Thanks Zoe. I believe the trick to making hyperconnectivity work for you is reducing the noise. These "connection junkies" (see my 21 April post) are likely to waste your time if they begin spamming you with fun messages. Either cut the connection or apply filters.